When your iPhone/iPad is disabled or in a security lockout

Here on Apple Support Community (ASC) we see these question fairly often. People forget the passcode of their iPad/iPhone, and the device becomes locked out. Most of the times you will see an "iPhone is disabled" screen. But what do you need to do in order to fix this?

First the bad news. If your iPhone or iPad is disabled or in a security lockout, the device needs to be wiped in order to reset your forgotten passcode. This is one of many examples why it is important to back up your data, as wiping the iPhone will erase the whole iPhone and all of its contents.

The process of wiping your iPhone and restoring it is different when you're running iOS 15.2 or iPadOS 15.2 or newer or when you're running an older version of iOS or iPadOS.

Erasing and restoring your iPhone/iPad without a computer on iOS 15 and 16

This feature is only available in iPadOS/iOS 15.2 or above. When following this process, it doesn't need a computer or a Mac to complete. For this process your device needs to be connected to a WIFI, or cellular network. Also you will need your Apple ID and your Apple ID password, keep those with you when starting the process.

If you have met al prerequisites, follow these steps in order to wipe your device and start anew:

If you're using an eSIM, contact your carrier before trying these steps and ask for a QR code to set up your eSIM again.

1. From your device's Lock Screen, try to enter your passcode five times until the "[Device] Unavailable" screen appears and your device asks you to try again later.
2. When you're able to, continue to enter your passcode until the "Security Lockout" screen appears and you get the Erase [Device] option in the bottom corner of the screen.
3. Tap Erase [Device], then tap Erase [Device] again to confirm.
4. Enter your Apple ID password to sign out of your Apple ID on your device.
5. Tap Erase [Device] to permanently delete all of your data and settings.
6. When your device restarts, follow the onscreen instructions to set up your device again, restore your data and settings from a backup, and set a new passcode.

If you can't follow these steps, you can use a computer to reset your device.

You can only reach the "Security Lockout" screen if you have an active cellular or Wi-Fi connection and previously enabled Find My on your device. After you try to enter your password ten times, your device will either erase itself or show Security Lockout and the option to Erase [Device] without a timer, depending on how you previously set up your device. 

For iOS 17 the process is slightly different:

1. From your device's Lock Screen, try to enter your passcode until the "[Device] Unavailable" screen appears and your device asks you to try again later.
2. When you're able to, tap the Forgot Passcode? option in the bottom corner of the screen.
3. On the Security Lockout screen, tap Start [Device] Reset to confirm.
4. Enter your Apple ID password to sign out of your Apple ID on your device.
5. Tap Erase [Device] to permanently delete all of your data and settings. If you use an eSIM with iOS 17 or later, you can also choose to keep your eSIM and erase your data, or to delete your eSIM and erase your data.

6. When your device restart, follow the onscreen instructions to set up your device again, restore your data and setting from a backup, and set a new passcode.

And that is it! If you had a backup, you can put that one back and your phone will be as it was before the security lockout. If you haven't had a backup: your phone will be set up as a brand new one, and you'll have lost all of the data that you haven't backed up.

Restore your iPad/iPhone via a pc or Mac

If you're running any iOS/iPadOS Lower than 15.2 you will need to follow this procedure in order to remove your forgotten passcode. Or if the procedure via the security lockout screen is not working because your iPhone doesn't have an internet connection. For this procedure you will need to have access to a pc or Mac. If you don't have access to a pc or Mac and you cannot borrow one, you can contact Apple Support to make a Genius Bar appointment, or go to an apple authorized service center in your country.

Follow these steps in order to remove your forgotten passcode:

1. Make sure that you have access to a pc or Mac
2. Turn your device completely off
3. Put your iPhone in recovery mode. To do this on an iPhone X or later, including the third and second generation of iPhone SE Hold the side button until the recovery screen shows. For the iPhone 7/7Plus you will need to hold the volume down button for the recovery screen to show. For the first generation of iPhone SE and the iPhone 6S and earlier, you will need to hold the home button in order for the recovery screen to show. For the iPad, you will need to use the power button on iPads without a home button, and the home button for iPads with a home button.
4. The recovery screen will show, and connect your device to the pc or Mac that you're using in order to do this procedure
5. On Windows and on a Mac running anything below macOS Catalina we will use iTunes for this procedure, on a Mac with a macOS Catalina or higher we will use the finder for this procedure.
6. Open iTunes/finder and find your device in the side bar. When the option to restore or update shows on your screen, press restore. Your computer downloads software for your device and begins the restore process. If the download takes more than 15 minutes and your device exits the recovery mode screen, let the download finish, then turn off your device  and start again.
7. Wait for the process to finish
8. disconnect your iPhone and set it up a new or place back a backup.

And that is it, you will have regained access to your device